Demographic and psychologic aspects of domestic violence against women

Domestic violence (DV) against women is often hidden, repeated and prolonged. DV is both a direct and an indirect risk factor for physical and mental health problems, and is associated with increased health care utilization. Husband's violence against wives not only affects the person and her family, but the society as a whole. In a cross sectional case series study, 100 women of Bushehr Province with the experience of DV were evaluated in 1999. A questionnaire was filled out by interview. Physical abuse, emotional abuse, and controlling behavior aspects of DV were evaluated. All the subjects had experienced the three types of DV. The duration of DV was more than two years in more than half of the participants. 50.6 % of them had experiences of severe and very severe violence. Social isolation (38%), headache (50%), nightmares (25%), misbehavior with children (39%), and irritability (32%) were the most common sequelae. Being fearful of losing their children (23%), shamed by what is happening to them (19%) and low information level (17%) were the most common reasons that they hid their condition regarding DV. The present study indicates the severity and long duration of domestic violence, including symptoms of physical and psychological diseases, in the studied subjects in Bushehr Province.